Mad science and madder explosions have been trademarks of the Resident Evil series that have birthed as many memes as the franchise has terrifying monsters. The newest entry, Resident Evil Village, will see a return to the horror genre complete with new tragedy, lore, and evil within Castle Dimitrescu. This Resident Evil title seems to combine a lot of the popular elements from previous games, such as crafting ammo in Resident Evil 3 and the inventory management from Resident Evil 4. However, nothing has been more popular than the dominating vampire Lady Dimitrescu.
Announced in June 2020, Resident Evil Village will put fans back into the shoes of Ethan Winters, seeking to find his daughter now that she has been kidnapped by longtime protagonist Chris Redfield. Although warned not to go by the village's inhabitants, Ethan enters the castle to find its matriarch Alcina Dimitrescu before she has a chance to use his baby daughter for a ritual to Mother Miranda. Dimitrescu also has three daughters, but none as dominating as Dimitrescu herself. After Mother Miranda seemingly gives up on the village, they are at the mercy of Lady Dimitrescu and all the other dark creatures for which Resident Evil has become popular.
Over Nine Feet Tall
The large vampire Lady Dimitrescu is nine feet and six inches tall, putting her seven inches above the tallest known human to ever live. She will also stand a whopping three and a half feet over the game's protagonist Ethan Winters, who will return from Resident Evil 7. She has the ability to elongate her fingers and turn them into blades, which could explain her height if it in and of itself is supernatural. Either way, it's most likely a side effect of some sort of virus, which will be revealed before a vile transformation in the game. On top of all that, her shoe size is said to be 17.3 inches, for those who want to know.
Sanguis Virginis
Using a tradition passed down through her family, Lady Dimitrescu uses the blood of her victims to instill her wine with a special flavor that also makes it thicker than the typical variety. The name means "Maiden's Blood" and is kept in a special bottle decorated with silver. Being that Lady Dimitrescu is a vampire, this fermented blood likely provides some restorative or enhancing properties unto her and her children. As the name implies, Alcina prefers to harvest virgin women for her wine, as their blood is likely the most "pure."
Based in Lore
Resident Evil Village will take a lot of lore from Eastern-European vampires. This includes aspects of Lady Dimitrescu and three children, who may strike a resemblance to Dracula's three brides. They would kidnap infants to consume and maintain their youth, much like what brings Ethan Winters to the castle in the first place. Dracula was also known as a witch, and able to transform parts of his body into other animals.
The art director, Tomonori Takano, also said that Dimitrescu is based on the Hachishakusama in Japanese folklore. The Hachishakusama is rumored to appear as a very tall woman in a white dress and hat, with black hair and a deeper than average voice. She prefers young and innocent victims and gets them by stalking until the time is right. Tomonori also admits that he got inspiration from Anjelica Huston as Morticia Adams from the 90s Addams Family.
Ultimately, there's no telling if Lady Dimitrescu and Resident Evil Village will be able to live up to the hype until it releases, but at least fans won't have to wait long to hop back in Ethan's shoes.
Resident Evil Village will launch on May 7 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.